A land of extremes
The same patch of desert that burns at midday in May can be near freezing before dawn in January. Rajasthan's weather is never dull.
Far from the sea: Rajasthan lies on the edge of the tropics, with the Thar Desert across its west.
The Aravallis: an old, worn ridge running diagonally from near Delhi to the borders of Gujarat. That geography explains almost everything about the climate.
Fast to heat, fast to cool: the desert swings sharply, so the difference between day and night can be dramatic.
Facts to know
- Cool season
- October to March
- Hot season
- April to June
- Monsoon
- July to September
- Most visitors
- October to March
- Key ridge
- The Aravalli hills
- Greener south and east: the Aravallis catch more of the monsoon rain than the plains to the west.
- Dry, fierce summers: with no sea breeze, the summer heat, when it comes, is dry and fierce.
- For a traveller: a long and lovely winter season, a very hot early summer and a short, beautiful monsoon.
- The main season: most visitors come between October and March, when days are warm and sunny, skies clear and nights cool enough for a fire.
- Every season has its reasons: its own festivals and its own light. Knowing how each region behaves lets us plan a comfortable journey at any time of year.
- On this page: the seasons, the regions and the months. For festivals and crowds, see the best time to visit Rajasthan and the twelve month pages below.
The three seasons, as we live them
Indian calendars once counted six seasons. For a traveller in Rajasthan, three are enough: the cool, the hot and the rains.
Facts to know
- October days
- Around 33°C in Jaipur
- January mornings
- Around 8°C in Jaipur
- April days
- Around 38°C
- Thar in May
- Up to 45°C
- Phalodi record
- 51°C, May 2016
- Monsoon arrives
- Late June to mid-July
The cool season, October to March
Our guests' choice: most choose this season, and with good reason.
October: still late summer, with days in the low to mid 30s °C, settling around 33°C in Jaipur, and nights cooler each week.
- November: close to perfect, with warm, dry, sunny days and fresh evenings.
- December and January: the coldest months. Days are mild and bright, often in the low 20s °C, but Jaipur mornings can start around 8°C, and desert and Shekhawati nights can drop close to freezing.
- February: warms gently, and is for us the most comfortable month of all.
- March: days reach the low 30s °C, and the first heat is coming.
The hot season, April to June
Fast heat: days around 38°C from April, and by May the Thar can touch 45°C.
The loo: a dry westerly wind that blows hot and dusty in the afternoons.
- Aandhi: late-afternoon dust storms that sometimes sweep in before the rains.
- Records: Phalodi, between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, recorded 51°C in May 2016.
- A siesta rhythm: early starts, long lunches, afternoons by the pool and evenings on rooftops.
- The rewards: not a season for a first classic tour, but it brings empty palaces, the best hotel rates of the year and tigers at Ranthambore's last waterholes.
The monsoon, July to September
Arrival: the south-west monsoon usually reaches the south and east towards the end of June, and covers the state by about mid-July.
How it rains: in heavy bursts, often in the afternoon, with sunny spells in between.
- Wetter south and east: Udaipur, Mewar, Bundi and Hadoti receive far more rain than the desert, and the Aravallis turn green almost overnight.
- The desert: Jaisalmer may see only a few showers in a year.
- Humidity: temperatures drop from the summer peak, but the air is heavier, and the first half of September can be sticky.
- Withdrawal: the rains leave the west during September, and by month's end the countryside is greener than visitors ever imagine Rajasthan can be.
How the weather differs across Rajasthan
Rajasthan is almost the size of Germany. On the same January morning, our cousins in Jaisalmer may be wearing woollen hats while Udaipur sits by the lake in a light jacket.
Facts to know
- Most extreme
- The Thar Desert
- Wettest
- Hadoti, the south-east
- Gentlest
- Mewar and the Aravallis
- Coolest
- Mount Abu, about 1,220 m
- Winter fog
- Delhi, Agra, the east
The Thar Desert: Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner
The most extreme climate: winter days are sunny and pleasant, but nights in the dunes are cold.
- Desert camps in winter: in December or January you need a heater, a hot-water bottle and a warm jacket for the campfire.
- Summer: fierce, with afternoons that can pass 45°C. The monsoon brings only a little rain.
- Stargazing: clear desert skies make it superb in the cool months. See Jaisalmer and our desert camps.
Marwar: Jodhpur and the village forts
Warm and dry: on the edge of the desert, Jodhpur has lovely winters and hard summers for most of the year.
- Monsoon: short and light.
- Greenest: the Bishnoi villages and farmland around Jodhpur are at their best just after the rains, in September and October.
Shekhawati and the north
Extremes: the painted towns of Shekhawati have them.
- Churu: on the edge of the region, it is known in India for both very hot summers and frosty winter nights.
- Winter: crisp and clear, and in February the mustard fields flower yellow around the towns.
Jaipur and the east
The pattern: warm, sunny winters with cool mornings, very hot summers and a moderate monsoon.
- Winter mornings: like Delhi and Agra, the east can be hazy or foggy in December and January.
- Read more: our guide to the best time to visit Jaipur.
Mewar and the Aravallis: Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur
A gentler climate: the hills and lakes soften it. Winters are mild, and summers are hot but slightly softer than the desert.
- The strongest monsoon in western Rajasthan: Udaipur's lakes fill in the rains, and the hills around Kumbhalgarh turn green.
- Most romantic: many guests say Udaipur is at its best in the monsoon. See Udaipur.
Mount Abu, the hill station
Rajasthan's only hill station: on a plateau at about 1,220 metres, noticeably cooler than the plains all year.
- Summer escape: the classic one from April to June.
- Monsoon and winter: green and misty in the rains, and cold in winter, when nights can fall close to freezing. See Mount Abu.
Hadoti and the south-east: Bundi, Kota and Jhalawar
The wettest part of Rajasthan: with rivers, reservoirs and forest.
- After the rains: the monsoon is generous, the stepwells fill and the countryside around Bundi is beautiful in August and September.
- Before the rains: summers are hot and humid.
Delhi and Agra
Where journeys begin or end: hot summers, a monsoon from about late June to September, and cool winters.
- Air quality: from November, it can be poor in Delhi.
- Fog: in December and January, dense morning fog often delays flights and trains and can veil the Taj Mahal at sunrise. See our Agra best time to visit guide.
Month by month
Each month has its own weather, its own festivals and its own reasons to come. These are the short versions. Each one links to a full month guide.
Facts to know
- Coldest
- December and January
- Our favourite
- February
- Hottest
- May and June
- Greenest
- Late September
- Ranthambore
- Open 1 October to end June
January
Cool, bright and festive: mornings start near 8°C in Jaipur and colder in the desert, and days are sunny and mild.
- Mavath: occasional winter showers, which we call by this name, are brief.
- Fog: it may slow mornings in Delhi and Agra.
February
- Our favourite month: warm days, cool nights and the clearest light of the year.
- Good for: long drives and walks, with the mustard in flower.
March
- The first warmth: days reach the low 30s °C, and nights are pleasant.
- Still green: the countryside holds the colour of the winter crops. A lovely month for Holi.
April
- Heat builds: towards 38°C. Mornings and evenings are still pleasant, and the middle of the day is for shade.
- Wildlife: waterholes shrink, and tiger sightings improve.
May
- Hot and quiet: the Thar touches 45°C and the loo blows in the afternoons.
- Escapes: Mount Abu stays green and mild, and the palace hotels are at their calmest.
June
- The hottest, stillest month: with dust storms and then, often towards the end of the month, the first rain in the south and east.
- Parks: Ranthambore's core zones close at the end of June.
July
- The monsoon arrives: across the state, with short heavy showers and humid air.
- Turning green: the Aravallis change colour, and Udaipur's lakes begin to fill.
August
- Afternoon bursts: of rain, with mist on the hills above Udaipur and full stepwells in Bundi.
- The light: warm and humid, with soft, washed light between the rains.
September
- The rains taper off: and withdraw from the west.
- Humid, then pleasant: sticky in the first half, pleasant by the end, with the countryside at its greenest.
October
The season opens: days settle around 33°C, the air dries and the light turns golden.
- Cooler nights: they cool steadily through the month.
- Ranthambore: reopens on 1 October.
November
- Close to perfect: warm, dry, sunny days and fresh evenings.
- Delhi: air quality can be poor this month, so we keep time there short.
December
Clear and cool: clear skies and cool nights, cold in the desert.
- Winter pleasures: fireside dinners and warm shawls.
- Fog: it sometimes slows the roads between Delhi and Agra in the mornings.
Winter, closer up
Visitors are always surprised by the cold. They pack for India and forget that a desert at night has nothing to hold the day's heat.
Genuinely cold mornings: from mid-December to late January, a sunrise at Amber Fort, a dawn safari in Ranthambore or a camel ride at first light near Jaisalmer can be bitter.
Open safari vehicles: freezing at dawn, which is why lodges hand out blankets and hot-water bottles.
Warm by ten: by mid-morning you will be in a shirt, and the middle of the day is warm and sunny.
Facts to know
- Coldest weeks
- Mid-December to late January
- Dawn safaris
- Freezing in open jeeps
- By 10am
- Shirt weather
- Pack
- Fleece, shawl, hat, cotton
- Fog weeks
- Mid-December to January
- Layers are the answer: a light down jacket or fleece, a shawl, a hat for the mornings, and cotton for the afternoon.
- Chilly heritage rooms: buildings made to stay cool in summer hold the cold in winter, with thick stone walls and high ceilings. Some older rooms rely on heaters.
- The right room: good hotels provide heaters, and we ask for rooms that catch the sun.
- Winter pleasures: fireside dinners on palace terraces, bonfires in desert camps and hot saffron milk at bedtime.
- Fog in the north: from about mid-December to January, dense morning fog often settles over Delhi, Agra and the plains, slowing flights, trains and roads.
- How we plan around fog: midday departures in those weeks, and room before anything that cannot be missed. Our page on airports and flights explains more.
Travelling in the heat
Rajasthanis have lived with fierce summers for centuries, and our old buildings show how: thick walls, shaded courtyards, stepwells and windows designed to catch the breeze.
The day around the heat: between April and June, sightseeing starts at first light and ends by late morning.
Afternoons: for the pool, a long lunch, a spa or a nap in a cool room.
Evenings: we go out again in the late afternoon, when the light is lovely and the bazaars come to life.
Facts to know
- Sightseeing
- First light to late morning
- Rest
- About noon to four
- Out again
- Late afternoon and evening
- Warning signs
- Headache, dizziness, nausea, tiredness
- Cooler options
- Mount Abu, Mewar's hills
- Where you stay matters: hotels with gardens and pools matter more than ever, and the air-conditioned car becomes a refuge.
- A real health risk: especially for children, older travellers and anyone unused to heat.
- Drink constantly: before you are thirsty, more than you think you need, and add oral rehydration salts if you are sweating a lot.
- Watch for heat exhaustion: headache, dizziness, nausea and unusual tiredness. Our health and safety guide has general advice, and your own doctor can tell you what is right for you.
- Start at dawn: forts and monuments are cooler, quieter and more beautiful in the first two hours of light.
- Rest from noon to four: this is what local families do, and it works.
- Cover your head and shoulders: a wide hat and loose cotton, or a cotton scarf or safa, a turban cloth, the local answer to the sun.
- Choose shade: stays with gardens, pools and shade, and rooms that face away from the afternoon sun.
- Go somewhere gentler: Mount Abu, or the lakes and hills of Mewar.
The monsoon, honestly
In Rajasthan we don't fear the rain. We celebrate it. Women swing from the trees at Teej, and the whole state seems to breathe out.
Not for everyone: but it can be wonderful.
Bursts, not downpours: the rain usually comes in heavy bursts, often in the afternoon, with many dry, bright hours between them.
The reward: the countryside turns green, the lakes fill, the forts sit in cloud, and the light after rain is soft and clean.
Facts to know
- Rain pattern
- Heavy bursts, often afternoon
- Loveliest
- Udaipur, Bundi, Kumbhalgarh
- Park closures
- About July to September
- Paused
- Balloons and dune camps
- Festival
- Teej
- At their loveliest: Udaipur, Bundi, Kumbhalgarh and the Aravallis. The desert gets little rain but much relief from the heat.
- Humidity and storms: humidity can be high, and heavy storms can flood a road or delay a flight for a few hours.
- Parks: the core zones of Ranthambore and several other parks close from about July to September.
- Paused experiences: some open-air things, such as hot-air balloons and dune camps.
- What you gain: the Teej festival, ghevar in the sweet shops, empty monuments and gentle hotel rates.
- Built for it: our monsoon in Mewar journey.
Weather, wildlife and light
The seasons decide what you will see in the parks, and how your photographs will look.
Facts to know
- Ranthambore opens
- 1 October
- Ranthambore core closes
- End of June
- Best tiger months
- April to June
- Winter birds
- About November to February
- Clearest light
- February and October
Tigers and leopards
Ranthambore: opens on 1 October, and its core zones close at the end of June.
- Comfort versus sightings: the cooler months are comfortable for safaris, and the hot months from April to June bring tigers to the shrinking waterholes, when sightings are often at their best.
- Leopards at Jawai: seen year round, with the cool season most comfortable.
- Read more: our journal on the best time for tigers.
Birds
Winter migrants: they come from Central Asia and beyond.
- Where: Keoladeo at Bharatpur, Sambhar Lake's flamingos and the demoiselle cranes at Khichan near Phalodi.
- When: at their best from about November to February, depending on the rains. See our birding experiences.
Light for photographs
Clearest: February, and after the monsoon in October.
- Winter haze: it can soften distant views, especially in the east.
- Summer: harsh at midday but dramatic at dawn and dusk.
- Monsoon skies: the best clouds of the year. Our photography tips explain more.
How Rajasthan learnt to live with the weather
Every old building in Rajasthan is a lesson in climate. Our ancestors had no air-conditioning, so they built it into the walls.
Thick walls: stone and lime keep rooms cool by day and release warmth slowly at night.
Courtyards: they pull hot air up and out, and shade the rooms around them.
Jaalis: carved stone screens break the glare while letting the breeze through.
Facts to know
- Jaali
- Carved stone screen
- Jharokha
- Projecting shaded balcony
- Matka
- Clay pot that cools water
- Khus
- Fragrant grass screens
- Jharokhas: projecting balconies shade the walls below.
- The Palace of Winds: at Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, the small windows were designed so that air moves through the building, which is how it earned its name.
- Stepwells: the Chand Baori at Abhaneri and Raniji ki Baori in Bundi reached down to the water table, and their lower steps stay noticeably cooler, which made them summer gathering places.
- Matkas: families still keep water in these unglazed clay pots, which cool it by evaporation.
- Khus screens: in the old days, screens of fragrant khus grass hung in doorways and were splashed with water, so the breeze came through scented and cool.
- Clothes as climate: long, loose cotton, the turban that shades the head and neck, and bright colours that stand out against the dust all evolved for the desert.
- Read more: our architecture guide.
Local tip
In a heritage hotel, ask your guide to show you how the building keeps itself cool. It changes the way you see the whole state.
Festivals follow the weather
Rajasthan's festival calendar is really a farming calendar, and a farming calendar is really a weather calendar.
Makar Sankranti: on 14 January, it celebrates the sun's move northwards and the end of the coldest weeks, and Jaipur flies kites in clear winter skies.
Holi: at the spring full moon, it welcomes the warmth and the wheat harvest.
Facts to know
- Makar Sankranti
- 14 January, kites
- Holi
- Spring full moon
- Gangaur
- Spring, after Holi
- Teej
- July or August
- Diwali and Pushkar
- After the rains
- Gangaur: follows Holi, a festival of spring and marriage.
- Teej: in July or August, it greets the monsoon, when women in green and leheriya swing from the trees.
- After the rains: the Pushkar fair and Diwali come when the harvest is in and the weather is perfect for travel and trade.
- Plan with the rhythm: winter for the kite festival or the Desert Festival in February, spring for Holi and Gangaur, monsoon for Teej and green hills, autumn for Diwali and the camel fair.
- Moving dates: most festivals follow the lunar calendar, so we confirm them for you each year. See our festivals of Rajasthan pages.
Which season suits you
There is no wrong season in Rajasthan, only the wrong season for a particular traveller.
First visits and families
When: October to March, and especially November and February.
- Why: the weather is easiest, the drives are comfortable and the days can be full.
- Avoid: the hot months with young children.
Photographers and walkers
Clear light: February and October.
- Clouds and green: the monsoon.
- Winter mornings: cold but beautiful for long walks through old cities.
Wildlife lovers
- Comfort and birds: the cool months.
- Tigers at the waterholes: April to June, if you can take the heat.
Couples and repeat visitors
Romantic and quiet: the monsoon in Udaipur and Mewar.
- Empty palaces: the summer, with gentle rates.
- Rajasthan to yourselves: both suit travellers who have seen the classics. Our honeymoon journeys page has ideas for every season.
What to pack for the weather
Pack for the hour, not just the month. In winter you may need a jacket at dawn and a sun hat by lunch.
Facts to know
- October to March
- Cotton by day, warm layer
- December to February
- Fleece or down, hat, gloves
- April to June
- Long-sleeved cotton, wide hat
- July to September
- Quick-dry clothes, umbrella
- All year
- Slip-on shoes, scarf
October to March
By day: light cotton and linen.
- Evenings: a warm layer, and from December to February a proper fleece or light down jacket, a hat and gloves for dawn safaris and desert nights.
- A shawl: useful everywhere, and it doubles as a temple cover.
April to June
Clothes: loose, light, long-sleeved cotton.
- Sun kit: a wide-brimmed hat, good sunglasses, high-factor sunscreen and a refillable bottle.
- For cold cars and trains: a light layer against the air-conditioning.
July to September
Rain kit: quick-drying clothes, sandals that cope with puddles, a compact umbrella and a light rain jacket.
- Also: insect repellent.
- Leave at home: suede and delicate leather.
All year
Shoes: comfortable ones you can slip off at temples.
- Modest clothes: covering shoulders and knees, and a scarf.
- The full list: our packing guide.